Pharmacy Practice

Entry requirements

1. Confirm you meet the professional entry requirements:

• A pharmacy degree (BSc, BPharm, or MPharm).
• Registration as a pharmacist with the General Pharmaceutical Council.
• A practice-base with access to a workplace educational supervisor (the programme is suitable for pharmacists working in primary or secondary care), you should discuss your application with your manager prior to applying as workplace based support is essential to the programme.

For entry directly to the PGDip modules, you need at least 60 academic credits at a level 7 of an equivalent and comparable programme. To have your previous academic credits recognised, contact cippet@reading.ac.uk to discuss your case before making an application.

If you want to start your entry with the PGCert module, visit the PGCert Pharmacy Practice page for information on how to apply.

2. Complete a statement of purpose.

The student statement is used to support evidence of meeting the entry criteria, as well as determining your preparedness to undertake the programme of study. You may wish to consider some of the following questions when writing your statement:

• What support networks do you have whilst you are completing your studies?
• How do you keep up to date in your practice and reflect on your impact on patient care?
• If you are currently studying another programme at the same time, how will you manage your workload?

3. Prepare the following documents, as you will need to provide all of these documents during the application process:

• Checklist for foundation programme (PDF)
• Workplace-based learning declaration
• If you are being part sponsored: Proof of funding (some NHS organisations require a Purchase Order number for the payment of invoices. This must be stated on this letter to ensure invoices are paid promptly).
• If you are self-funding, or doing your learning in practice hours with an organisation who is not your employer, the self-funding declaration.

4. Access the University's online application portal.

All communication from the application system is via automated email. Some National Health Service (NHS) email servers flag these email addresses as spam, so we recommend using a personal email address to ensure you receive all communications at this stage.

When you have started an application, the system will email you to remind you to start, and/or complete, your application at regular intervals. If your account is flagged as dormant for three or more weeks, your application may be automatically removed.

5. Once you have created an account, select your programme choice from the drop-down menu:

• PGDip Pharmacy Practice

6. Complete all the required fields (marked with an asterix *) and upload all of the documents stated above (step 2 and 3).

Make sure you upload your statement of purpose to the 'statement of purpose' field in the application portal.

The application portal cannot accept multiple uploads. Therefore, you will need to scan the documents from step 2 into one document and submit your combined documents to the 'other' field.

7. References

Once you have submitted an application, an automatic email will be sent to your referees (if you have provided an email address for them). It is your responsibility to make sure that your referee supplies a reference. We would therefore advise that you contact them in advance of submitting an application so that they have time to prepare a reference. They can use our template to prepare their reference in advance. Please also note that emails from the application system may be sent to their 'spam' folder, which they should check if they have not received the email when expected.

If you have completed postgraduate study, you should provide details of one academic and one non-academic referee. If you have not completed postgraduate study, you can provide details of two non-academic referees. A suitable non-academic referee is typically a past or current employer, or your pre-registration tutor or diploma supervisor.

8. The outcome of your application

Applications are reviewed throughout the year. However, the greater the number of applications we receive, the longer it may take to inform you of the outcome. The admission tutor may contact you to discuss your application if:

• it is unclear whether you have support from your manager
• the workplace has not been accredited as a training centre by the programme team
• it is unclear who your workplace based supervisor will be
• your ability to attend all the study days is not clear.

Pre-sessional English language programme

If you need to improve your English language score, you can take a pre-sessional English course prior to entry onto your degree.

• Find out the English language requirements for our courses and our pre-sessional English programme

Months of entry

September

Course content

Please note that this course page includes information for the 2025/26 academic year. Details for 2026/27 entry to this course have not yet been finalised. Contact us for more information.

The PGDip Pharmacy Practice is a workplace-based programme, aligned to the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's Foundation Pharmacy Framework, which allows pharmacists to develop their clinical and service skills.

This collaborative programme between local NHS pharmacy services and the University provides pharmacy practice training that is responsive to the UK government's national objectives.

Your learning will reflect the local context in which pharmacists work, and the changing needs of patients.

This is a workplace-based learning programme and placements are part of your employment prior to enrolment. You will be taught through blended learning which combines face-to-face with online study.

You may be sponsored by your employer or may choose to self-fund. If you are being sponsored you should ensure funding is in place prior to submitting an application as places cannot be held in the event of funding not being secured.

View our PGCert Pharmacy Practice page for more information on the qualification.

97% of our research is of international standing (Research Excellence Framework [REF] 2021, combining 4*, 3* and 2* submissions – Allied Health Professions, Dentistry, Nursing and Pharmacy).

The start dates for this programme are November and May.

The timetable for the next academic year (2024/25) will be published provisionally during spring 2024.

The required documents to be submitted with your application are found in the 'Entry requirements' tab, along with information about how to apply online. Failure to upload the correct documents may lead to your application being rejected.

If you are interested in applying after the deadline, please contact cippet@reading.ac.uk - sometimes we can operate a waiting list in case applicants withdraw at the last minute.

PMMDP2 – Introduction to audit, service evaluation and quality improvement (November 2024 to April 2025)

• Applications open: 02 September 2024
• Application deadline: 04 October 2024

The study days will be from 14:00 to 18:00 on:

• TBC November 2024
• TBC January 2025
• TBC March 2025
• TBC April 2025

Fees and funding